Media Medium
29 January 2002

LIAM HAMILTON

Liam Hamilton, a dynamic Leo and ITV's new head of daytime,
is a top-notch performer with a competitive streak

As Liam Hamilton takes over from Maureen Duffy as
head of daytime television at ITV, can he pick up the pieces of
his career after his sojourn in dot.com land?

As a creative and talented Leo (August 12 1959), Hamilton is a
man who likes to feel he is at the hub of things, and with the
daytime schedules at ITV in tatters since the departure of
Richard and Judy, his new job will need all the organising and
managerial qualities of this dynamic sign. His Leo is helped by a
good dose of earthy Virgo, which gives him an eye for detail,
although he may sometimes get fussy and over critical when he
just needs to let go.

For Hamilton, it must be relief beyond belief to get back on
terra firma after several years of dancing in the dark. His
troubles began with the big solar eclipse on his birthday in
August 1999, the very month that his nemesis, WorldPop, was
launched. Jacking in his post as managing director of LTV, he
joined the cross-media internet venture in May 2000, just
before the dot.com crash. Eclipses are particularly difficult for
sunny Leos who always need to shine, and three more solar
eclipses since then have dogged his horoscope, clouding his
judgment and putting him in the shadows.

Like all Leos, Hamilton is a top-notch performer with a
competitive streak, and his sense of singularity is heightened by
a conjunction of his Sun with independent, leading edge Uranus:
"Innovative, inventive, progressive... unique self-expression is
central and you may take pride in being different or special...
your essence flows easily toward the new, the future, and the
unusual" (Maritha Pottenger, Astro Essentials).

Exciting as this may be, it doesn't always do him a lot of good,
especially during the next few years. At the end of this year,
sober Saturn gives him a testing time, and it will be an uphill
struggle to find the right recipe for success with the daytime
schedules. But since the hidden strength in his horoscope comes
from Saturn, this is Liam Hamilton's opportunity to make his
mark. This ambitious planet is well placed at his birth, and it
thrives in a corporate world with firm structures and long-term
goals.

Its connection to powerful Pluto is also a key to future success.
Astrologer Maritha Pottenger advises him that "a father
figure...fed your desire to 'make it', to achieve security and to
be successful in conventional, material terms". She also
suggests: "You may intuitively understand authority figures, and
could understand how to manipulate them successfully. You are
quite sensitive to the nuances revolving around the handling of
power, mastery, control and dominance, and could work
successfully from behind the scenes (Astro Essentials).

All of which is not the fun, thrills and excitement which Liam's
colourful Leo Lion wants, but being in with the suits for the
long haul is his best way forward now.